Episode 014 (Bonus Episode: Women Who Kill), Season 5 - Stephanie Lazarus – The Thin Blue Line Between Love and Murder
- Bianca Sloane
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
Stephanie Lazarus was a smart and ambitious officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, having joined the LAPD at a time when few women were on the force.
She continually moves up the ranks to become a respected detective, even being appointed to the high-profile art theft unit.
However, Stephanie’s got a secret, one involving an ex-lover, his murdered wife, and a little thing called DNA.
Listen to the episode HERE.
Photo caption (L-R): Stephanie Lazarus joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1983 during a time when few women were on the force. She quickly became a standout officer and later, a detective (credit: ABC News); Stephanie met handsome John Ruetten when both were students at UCLA. Stephanie considered John to be her boyfriend, while John only saw her a friend with benefits (credit: Dateline); Stephanie graduating from the police academy (credit: IMDB); Nursing director Sherri Rasmussen met John in the summer of 1984 and unlike Stephanie, John had no problem elevating the brilliant and accomplished Sherri to the role of girlfriend and eventually, wife (credit: Find a Grave); John and Sherri (credit: "The Lazarus Files: A Cold Case Investigation" by Matthew McGough); Sherri and John's Van Nuys condo (credit: Oxygen); Inside the Van Nuys condo after Sherri was murdered (credit: Oxygen); Sherri had a bite mark on her arm when she was murdered. It would later prove to be a crucial piece of evidence (credit: ABC News); The LAPD police report declaring Sherri's murder to be the result of a burglary gone wrong and the case went cold for 23 years (credit: ABC News); Stephanie being interrogated about her role in Sherri's murder (credit: Dateline Internet Archive) Stephanie was arrested for murdering Sherri and sentenced to 27 years to life (credit: LAist)
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